How To Keep Our Minds In Shape
As we add candles to the birthday cake, our physical and mental abilities diminish. There is no known relationship between age and how much we are affected, so the deterioration depends on each person. This begins when we begin to forget certain things, we do not retain information as much, we confuse people or names, etc.
In this case, we will not talk about neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s or other dementias, whose deterioration is more severe, but about the gradual losses that we all suffer over the years.
It is important that, although we must be responsible and pay attention to the different signals, we relativize the mistakes since we should not be alarmed by leaving the keys forgotten or not remembering the name of our daughter’s boyfriend.
To prevent the passage of time from making a dent in our physical abilities, the doctor tells us to walk, play sports, swim, ride a bicycle, etc. And for the mind? There are good techniques too!
Keep our mind in shape
The mind can stay awake and active for more years if we exercise it daily. You have to start changing your routine from now on so that the results are noticeable in the elderly. If you have already passed 60 years, do not think it is too late, you can always improve and avoid major problems.
-Lead a healthy lifestyle : the brain needs nutrients to be strong and healthy. Vitamins and proteins should never be lacking in your meals. On the other hand, it is vital that you sleep between 7 and 8 hours per day, so that the body can rest and recover.
-Avoid the consumption of alcohol, tobacco, coffee and junk food. All of these are “enemies” to your mind. Lastly, don’t hesitate to exercise two to three times a week. You can always find something that suits your tastes and needs.
-Maintain good personal relationships: it is very important that you keep in touch with your friends, your family and your neighbors. Don’t stay locked up at home or talk to them only on the phone. As we get older, the number of loved ones may decrease because we become more selective.
Don’t make the mistake of being alone all day. If you don’t live with anyone, at least “force” yourself to make a conversation at the market, on public transportation, or in the doctor’s waiting room. It is also good that you meet new people with extra activities beyond your daily obligations.
-Musicalize your life more: It is proven that listening to music is good for improving our mood and making us happier. If we add dancing to that, the benefits will be wonderful. When a song plays, we exercise our hearing and our memory at the same time, if we know it before. It helps us in turn to train the language and learn new words or phrases in other languages.
-Don’t let the routine bore you: If you do work that is too “mechanical” your brain will become very lazy, because it will have nothing new to entertain itself. Also, you are not a machine, don’t forget.
You can take a different route to go to work or the park, brush your teeth with the opposite hand, pay more attention to the flavors of the food, use new condiments, taste wines or chocolates (it is also something delicious), do the things of a different way and pay attention to what you are doing at the time.
That is, avoid “multitasking” and become aware of what you do step by step. Again, it is worth highlighting, we are not machines. We do not demand ourselves as if we were.
-Exercise your memory: You can do crosswords or intelligence tests, put together puzzles, memorize the shopping list, look up synonyms and antonyms to say the same thing, learn a new word a week, enjoy games that allow you to think how riddles are or brain teasers, etc.
One, two, one, two … walk!
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